Today was a special day. It started 13 years ago. I decided I'd killed plenty of turkeys here on our place in western Colorado, and decided to branch out and let some kids start hunting. I put a note on a fishing forum I was active on and only got one response. 17 year old kid from Montrose. He had hunted ducks and geese a lot. Some big game, but had never hunted turkeys. We met at 5:00 in the morning at my shop and went hunting. The turkey cooperated and about 30 minutes after fly down he had his bird.
A friendship was born in the creek bottom that day. Brandon ended up working for me for several summers and we started hunting and fishing together as often as work allowed.
Fast forward 13 years. Brandon is no longer a kid, he is grown with a family of his own. His oldest, Colton, just passed his hunter safety at the age of 8. He wanted to hunt where his dad got his first bird, and of course I was all in.
Then Mother Nature chimed in with 4 inches of snow and temperatures in the teens. Not ideal, but we snuck into a blind hoping for the best. We saw the birds come down. Not hardly a peep. After a frigid hour, we climbed the hill to get a look see at the birds. They were still there, right where they flew down.
Tucked back into the blind prepared to wait it out. At least Brandon and I were. Colton was cold. Then a turkey answered us. He wasn't cold anymore. A few minutes later here comes a tom on the hunt. He didn't get the script right, so we had to move Colton. Lost sight of him behind some sage before we got set up. Called and nothing. Waited. Called real soft again. That did it. Came around the sage and gobbled. Puffed up in a strut for a bit. Then Colton dropped the hammer on him. Colton's bird died within 15 yards of where his dad's first bird died. He was a very excited boy.
Almost as excited as his 2 guides.
A friendship was born in the creek bottom that day. Brandon ended up working for me for several summers and we started hunting and fishing together as often as work allowed.
Fast forward 13 years. Brandon is no longer a kid, he is grown with a family of his own. His oldest, Colton, just passed his hunter safety at the age of 8. He wanted to hunt where his dad got his first bird, and of course I was all in.
Then Mother Nature chimed in with 4 inches of snow and temperatures in the teens. Not ideal, but we snuck into a blind hoping for the best. We saw the birds come down. Not hardly a peep. After a frigid hour, we climbed the hill to get a look see at the birds. They were still there, right where they flew down.
Tucked back into the blind prepared to wait it out. At least Brandon and I were. Colton was cold. Then a turkey answered us. He wasn't cold anymore. A few minutes later here comes a tom on the hunt. He didn't get the script right, so we had to move Colton. Lost sight of him behind some sage before we got set up. Called and nothing. Waited. Called real soft again. That did it. Came around the sage and gobbled. Puffed up in a strut for a bit. Then Colton dropped the hammer on him. Colton's bird died within 15 yards of where his dad's first bird died. He was a very excited boy.
Almost as excited as his 2 guides.
